Untangled
by theghostchic
Summary: A lost cause screwing his life up beyond repair. And a Little Miss Perfect who knows to what extent her life is. He's a risk taker and she's afraid to take that extra leap. Will they finally learn to fall in love despite their past mistakes? PREHBP 7thYR
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own HARRY POTTER.

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**Chapter 1**

Harry stood in front of the Leaky Cauldron, he'd spent most of his summer here. Sometimes he'd stay at Draco's or sometimes at Ron's. He sighed—Draco's parents were fighting again. And kicked him out. He entered the pub slowly, smiled at the girl in front of him. He approached her slowly, kissed her on the lips and held her close. Soon they broke apart for the lack of air.

"Harry," She breathed.

"Hmm?" he asked, trailing kisses on her neck,

"Cho." She said.

It only took one word to make Harry's body go rigid. He quickly turned around to see his furious girlfriend staring at him. Her eyes glistening with tears, she dragged him off to a secluded area in Diagon Alley. When they arrived there, Cho quickly hit Harry on his arm and slapped him. She screamed all sorts of insults and such to him. After 10 minutes, which seemed to be an eternity of silence—he learned to shut out her voice a long time ago—there was an awful silence... except for Cho's occasional sniffing.

"Right. Erm. Sorry." Harry said staring at the floor, his hands fiddling with his hair.

"You good for nothing cockroach! Everyone was right about you." Cho hissed, stomping on his foot. Harry gasped in pain and hopped on one leg, his hands holding his now swollen and throbbing foot. "Bloody stilettos." He mumbled.

_Snap_. Harry looked around, finding the source of the sound, it didn't sound too threatening, but nevertheless he paced the alley, searching for the person. He pressed himself against the wall, walking—more like limping, towards the corner. He sighed and closed his eyes shut, counted to three, then he quickly turned around the corner, his wand in the air. He head an ear-splitting shriek come from the person right in front of him. Harry jumped at the sight of her, he expected a reporter, or his classmate, or even a death eater, and the last this he expected was... a girl wearing a maroon sweater, holding books, her curly chestnut brown hair down, and bearing such beautiful, deep, hazel brown eyes.

"I don't see why you make such a big deal about my life." Harry said in a matter-of-fact tone crossing his arms in front of his chest, "Why were you eavesdropping?"

"No, erm, it's just that... I was just passing by—" She reasoned, but he quickly cut her off.

"And you decided to peek into the lives of other people. What a shame, so, what do you think of my life? Huh? Did you find out anything interesting?" Harry asked, raising one eyebrow at her.

"Yes, I've come to the judgment that you're a great jackass." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione," Her name just seemed to roll off his tongue, "I have a feeling that we'll see each other again." He said coolly and walked past her, Hermione stood there, glued to her spot. She heaved a sigh of relief and sunk down to the floor. Put her head in her hands.

_I have a feeling that we'll see each other again._ That phrase rang in her head over and over again. She felt a chill run through her body as she sensed the coldness of his eyes, the harshness of his voice, and the look he gave her, she sighed and left the area quickly, trying to leave what happened there, she wasn't going to bring it with her..

"Ron!" she screamed and pulled the fiery red-head into a big hug. "How are you? I haven't seen you all summer!"

"Nothin' much happened. Oh yeah, we went to New Zealand, there were very few wizards, though. Dad got interested at the number of muggle shops they had. And I'm a prefect this year, everybody didn't seem to believe me, though."

"That's great! I'm a prefect, too!" Hermione said ecstatically, "By the way, how's your sister? I haven't spoken to her in ages!"

"Erm, she's just found out that that incredibly arrogant and self-centered boyfriend of hers cheated on her, I'm going to murder him, even _if_ we're friends."

_I have a feeling that we'll see each other again. _Hermione shook her head slightly, trying to rid that... _prediction_ from her head. Harry Potter should be the least of all her worries, they barely know each other.

"He cheats on everybody, you know Harry Potter. I suppose he won't change." She shrugged her shoulders and went off to buy her robes and school supplies, they were going to Hogwarts today.

----

"My, my, my! I expected Hannah here, but I didn't expect to see Harry Potter sitting on the bed, alone, wincing as he is nursing his... what the hell happened to your foot?!"

"It fucking bled! That bitch!" Harry exclaimed, rubbing his wound with damp cloth, "Goddamn shoes. I swear it's a bloody murder weapon."

Draco howled with laughter, clutching his stomach and leaning on the wall. Harry scowled and rolled his eyes at him, _idiotic git_. After 5 minutes, he got up, approached Draco and punched him square on the jaw. His loud laughter was replaced with ruffled sounds, curses and gasps of pain. Harry smirked at him and laughed at him mockingly.

"Dude, your house elf came a while ago. Here," Draco handed Harry a miniscule trunk the size of a matchbox, Harry simply tapped it with his wand and it returned to its original size, "Your school stuff and all your clothes are there."

"Right." Harry said, limping to the other side of the room, getting his coat which hung untidily by the lamp stand. Draco let out a light chuckle, obviously restraining himself from bursting out laughing at his best friend's pathetic appearance. Harry shot glares at him, and Draco still laughed, not threatened at all.

"What? If I'll laugh you'll run—limp, I mean—after me?" He said and sat down on the couch, laughing. Harry sat beside him and looked at him expectantly.

"What?" Draco asked.

"I can't believe I let Cho stomp on me like that" Harry said, put his hand to his forehead and groaned loudly, "She's annoying as hell."

"That my friend, is the reason why life should consist of a string of one-night stands!" Draco said exuberantly, "Not marriage and that sort! We're only kids!"

"What about—"

"Oh shut up, you-know-who just came to power months ago! He's still weak."

Harry bent his head, _Voldemort's still weak because of me and Dumbledore, and if I don't do anything fast, he'll come to power sooner. Dumbledore hasn't wrote in weeks, that usually means that I've nothing to do for the moment..._

"Harry Potter's such a whiner." Draco teased.

"I am not."

"You're just upset that what happened between you and Hannah _and_ Cho happened to reach your other girlfriend."

"Shut up, you prat."

Draco chuckled and patted Harry on the back, "Aren't you coming? For breakfast?"

"Nah." Harry said, limping towards the threshold, "I'll be fine."

"I suppose." Draco said, eying Harry's injured foot. "That's a pretty wise decision, you know. The Weasleys are here, as well as Cho. Oh yeah, and Hannah. By the way, platform 9 ¾, 10:45, sharp. Okay? If not I'll hex you to oblivion, I need a wingman."

Harry groaned and said nothing, instead he opened the door wider, "Well, Malfoy?" gesturing towards the hallway.

"Why do you have such a temper, Potter? Oh this will be such a blast, Harry Potter, got beat up by a silly girl."

Harry smiled at him and pushed him out the door, "Right, see you."

After Draco left, Harry sighed and slowly walked to his bed, he said at the edge and gathered his belongings. As he was fixing up, he jumped at the sound of pounding on his door. He slowly walked over there, "Just a minute." He called.

He opened the door to find a furious Ron Weasley staring at him, his ears blood red and his fist high up in the air. "Oh, it's you." Harry said and ruffled his hair, "What do you want?"

"What I want, _Potter,_ is you to stay the bloody hell away from my sister." Ron threatened, "Or I will not hesitate to hit you on the face."

"Listen, I really don't have the time for this."

"You seemed to have all the time in the world when you were making out with some other girl in the bar in front of Ginny."

Harry frowned, he had no recollection whatsoever with what happened last week, he just remembered walking into the bar with her then waking up naked in a room in the Three Broomsticks. He rubbed his forehead and sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"You don't remember, do you?" Ron asked.

Harry simply nodded. Ron's expression became worse, he clenched his fists harder, and his brows furrowed in anger, his eyes squinted and his ears turned redder—if that was possible. And before Harry knew it, he was lying on the floor, his nose throbbing with pain and blood trickling down his face. He looked up to see Ron, who was sneering at him.

"That's for my sister." Ron said, rushing out the room.

_This isn't going to be a good day..._

----

"Whoa, what happened to you?" Draco asked as he looked at Harry, who was sporting a black eye and a bleeding lip.

"Ron" he answered quietly, Draco laughed and shook his head, "You've _really_ got to stop messing with Ginny, Ron, and any other Weasley for that matter."

"Sod off, Malfoy."

"This year's going to be tough on you. A word of advice, don't ever talk to: Lavander—she's still angry at you for the incident during the 5th year, Ginny, Cho, Ron, Hannah, George and Fred Weasley—they're bound to hex you every now and then and, last but not least, Hermione Granger."

"What does Hermione have to do with me?"

"She's your wife, remember?"

"Oh. Right. That was just a dream, Malfoy. Why would I marry her anyway?"

"You got me." Draco said, "It's weird though, your dream sounded so real, it was... creepy. Imagine being married to a girl who stuck her nose in books all day." Draco shivered slightly, putting his arms around himself, "I think I just had goosebumps."

"For the last time, sod off, Malfoy." Harry said.

"You're such a jackass." Draco laughed and continued walking towards the train.

Harry stood there glued to his spot, _I've come to the judgment that you're a great jackass._ Hermione's harsh words rang in his head over and over again.

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_**A/N: Yes, I edited my story. So I hope this is a better version. I got my fingers crossed.**_

_**Please review, I'll treat all of you to a virtual trip to virtual Disneyland. XD.**_


	2. The Dream

_**A/N: I hope you guys like the story so far. Feel free to ask about things. And i'll gladly PM you my response. Thank you guys so much.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**_

**Bruise Patch it's like a potion inside a piece of cloth. You just put it on where the bruise is for 2 minutes and it heals instantly.**

**Chapter 2: The Dream**

**2 days ago**

_"Good morning, honey." Said a beautiful woman with brown curly hair with hazelnut colored eyes, wearing an apron over her gown. She looked at him lovingly and kissed him on the lips. "Breakfast's ready."_

_"Morning." He said groggily, running his hands through his hair, sitting down on the breakfast table and drinking his orange juice._

_"Oh dear, are you okay?"_

_"Yes, Hermione, I just had a rough time at work, who knew that having Percy as your boss would tire you out so much?" She only nodded and drummed her fingers on the countertop. Harry looked at her and grinned mischievously. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him and placed her hands on her hips. "What?"_

_She giggled as he swept her in his arms, spinning her around. "Oh, I'm so glad it's a Sunday." Harry said happily._

_"I'm so glad I married you, Harry."_

Harry woke up from his dream with sweat dripping down his color-drained face. He was breathing heavily, and the sudden coldness of the air made him shiver. _Hermione Granger?_ _That can't be._

"Draco." Harry knocked on his best friend's room, "Draco?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Let me in."

Harry was surprised to see Draco's hair stick out of every possible angle, his pajamas ruffled. "What is it that you want, Potter?" he groaned.

"What time is it?" Harry asked... he didn't bother to check the time.

"If you came knocking on my door, disturbing my sleep _just_ to ask what time it was, I'm going to hex you." He replied grumpily.

"Fine. I have to tell you something."

"Step into my office, then." Draco opened his door wider, revealing a room thrice as big as the one Harry had been staying in. The walls were painted a dark green color, lined with strips of black. The cold stone floor was covered with a silver carpet in the middle, to the left of his room was a giant wardrobe, it's door slightly ajar, Harry took a peek inside and dropped his mouth in awe at the number of exquisite, dress robes he had—each hand-tailored by elves, the best of its kind. His study table beside his wardrobe was dark ironwood, beautifully carved with snakes on its side. Harry looked to his right, the whole wall was covered with one gigantic bookcase, containing all sorts of books. Draco's bed stood proudly in the middle, draped with moss green curtains and the frame of his bed was silver. His sheets were black as well as his pillows

Harry let out a low whistle as he entered Draco's room, taking a seat on his sofa. Draco smirked and sat on his bed.

"What was so important then, Potter?"

Harry sighed and put his head in his hands, he wiped the sweat of his face and shook slightly at the thought of his weird dream...

"I dreamt that Hermione was my wife." He said quickly, sighing and stood from his seat, pacing the room.

"Do I look like a psychiatrist, Potter?" Draco joked, chuckling slightly, "Hermione? Hermione Granger? That bookworm who always sticks her nose into books? Little miss prefect?"

"That's _perfect_, Malfoy."

"No, I mean seriously, she's a prefect. I'm a prefect, too."

"What?!" Harry bellowed, "That's preposterous! Who in the right mind would make _you_ a prefect?! Everyone knows that you're no better than I am!"

"Actually, Harry, I am better than you. I don't sneak out into parties and come back at 12 in the afternoon."

"That's rubbish, Malfoy, you sneak out into parties—"

"But I come back at midnight, while you go off with the ladies, and having your one-night stands _then_ return to Hogwarts." Draco said, grinning.

"Ha! Guess who'll be at parties while you'll be sitting all alone in your common room, patrolling stupid corridors and doing more homework while you listen to stupid orders teachers give and—"

"Did you know that prefect's are allowed to Visit Hogsmeade _every_ month? While you guys only go there every 2? Ah, and we have our own bathroom _and_ access to the Room of Requirement, with the consent of a teacher, that is, so guess where we'll be having parties? And because of what you said I don't think I'll invite you." Draco said in a matter-of-fact tone. Grinning like crazy as he saw how Harry's jaw dropped in awe, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"That's unfair!" Harry huffed, he soon lost his frustration as his mind suddenly dwelled on the thought of his dream,

"I still can't believe that Granger's going to be your wife... Wow." Draco said, changing the subject.

"I know, and the thing is, it might not be even real. But at least I don't have feelings for Ginny anymore... I think."

"What?!" Draco laughed, "This year is going to be tough on you, Harry, Ron will go after you like a madman once he knows that you're routing for a girl you already cheated on."

"Bugger off, Malfoy. Everyone knows that you've fancied each other her since the 4th year."

"Do you really, _really_, love her, Harry?" Draco asked, his expression unreadable.

"She's nice and fun to be with." Harry deadpanned and shut the door behind him and head towards his room, unsure to whether answer the question or not, because truthfully, he didn't know.

Harry walked down the empty hallway, the walk from Draco's room to his was surprisingly long.

"Potter," seethed Lucius. "What are you doing here?"

"I stay here. Draco said I could. Besides, with a house this big, what are the chances of you seeing me? Perhaps I got unlucky today. Draco said you wouldn't be here all summer. Oh well."

"This is my house and you are unwelcome here. And I don't care about what my son says. He's been dead to me since the day he came home saying that he made friends with a _Gryffindor._"

"Right. I'm going back to bed. Say hi to Voldemort for me." Harry yawned, turned around and walked towards his room. Draco always hated his father, and he could see why. But somehow he found that it was idiotic for him to stay at the Malfoy residence... He decided that he'd never return there, it was completely dangerous. Every time Lucius would ask Draco about him, Draco would just lie, saying that he's trying to lure Harry into Voldemort's lair.

----

**Present**.

Harry sat in the Hogwarts express, staring out the window. Did he really love Ginny? He shook his head and tried to rid his mind of anything bothering him. Harry sighed and got up, deciding that he needed to go to the back of the train, and have some fresh air. He walked towards the glass door at the end. But when he saw that familiar bushy brown hair patrolling looking into the compartments every now and then, he headed straight towards her, deciding that fresh air could wait.

"Hello Hermione. So, you're a prefect?" He said happily.

"Hello, jackass. And, yes I am."

"Well, I'm not a prefect." He said, rubbi ng the back his neck nervously.

"Ron took your spot." She deadpanned.

"Oh."

"So you actually care about being a prefect?" She asked and titled her head.

"No... I just didn't want an awkward conversation."

"Well, you just made it awkward."

"Oh. Whoops." He said sheepishly.

Hermione grinned, "It doesn't have to be awkward if you don't want it to be, you know."

"So you're saying that I made the conversation awkward?" Harry asked, folded his arms in front of him and leaned on the wall.

"Yes, Mr. I-don't-want-an-awkward-conversation."

"Now, you're just being mean." Harry pointed out.

She giggled, "How's your foot?"

"It bled. 'Cause I'm such a jackass." He said, quoting her.

A blush crept up Hermione's cheeks. "Well, you are. Ron's all angry at you and Ginny doesn't seem to care about you anymore."

Harry bent his head, he really _did_ screw up. There was a thick silence hovering over them, he looked up at Hermione, who was obviously upset, nibbling on her bottom lip. He walked closer to her, Hermione could feel her heart beating faster and her breathing speeding up by the second.

"She really didn't care from the start, anyway. She likes Draco." He whispered into her ear.

"Aren't you in the slightest bit disappointed?" She asked.

"Well, of course I am, her brother gave me this." He pointed to his cheek which had a few cuts and his lip slightly bleeding, "I actually had a black eye here, but I used a Bruise Patch on it, and I didn't have extras." He gestured to arm, which sported a bruise as big as a fist.

"That's Ron for you." Hermione said, and furrowed her brows.

"I need to talk to Ginny." Harry said hastily.

"Are you sure? Ron might be there with her."

"I don't care..."

"Fine then, I shall lead you to our compartment. But don't say I didn't warn you."

He followed her in silence, simply blown away by how quickly she gave into him. The hostile attitude she gave him only hours ago had disappeared quickly, instead of giving him the insults she expected from her, she simply gave him a smile. He shifted uncomfortable while waiting for Hermione to call Ginny. Harry shuddered at the booming voice of a very upset and hostile Ron, "He's a git, Ginny! Unless you want to get hurt again beyond repair, I suggest you stay away from him. How dare he want to talk to you after everything he'd done..."

"_Please,_ Ron. It's okay, really."

"Fine. But if he lays a single finger on you..." Ron's voice trailed off as he saw Harry standing by the door. He quickly stood up and shoved Harry purposely as he walked away. Harry quietly walked in and sat in front of Ginny.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah you are." Ginny said, not meeting his emerald eyes that were staring at her.

"Seriously, I'm really, really sorry. You know who I am... And I'm happy that you're not at all bothered by the fact that I screwed up. I know you're in love with Draco..."

Ginny looked up at him, her eyes looking at his for a second, but she quickly broke it off.

"You were in love with Draco even when I was in love with you."

"Right, you didn't love me."

"I did, but I realized that you'd be happy with Draco." Harry answered hesitantly.

"Oh" Was all she could manage.

"Don't worry, I'm not bothered at all. I'm happy for the both of you."

"Do you think he loves me?" She asked.

"I know he loves you, Ginny. It's great to see you guys in love." He lied. While they were out finding the love of their lives he was stuck with a string of one-night stands, horcrux hunts he'd look forward to, and being alone for the rest of him life—or not, considering the dream.

"Thanks a lot, Harry." Ginny said.

Harry took her in his arms, slowly stroking her hair. His head mingled on thoughts of Draco and Ginny getting married and he finally beating Voldemort... and what would his life be after killing him? Harry mentally slapped himself for being such an idiot. Maybe there wasn't a life after Voldemort...

"Get your hands off her." Harry heard someone growl. He quickly turned around to see Draco, breathing heavily, leaning on the door.

"You told me you didn't love her!" Draco scowled.

"Draco, I don't" Harry reasoned, "It was just a hug."

"Yeah, right. You filthy, cheating, git!"

"Draco, seriously, I just—"

"I'm glad that I came here sooner. If I would've been late by 5 minutes, that friendly hug would've turned to a make out session." He pointed his wand at Harry, who retaliated by pointing his wand at Draco as well.

"I just came to apologize." Harry reasoned.

"Draco! Harry! Stop it!" Ginny yelled standing between the two. "Could you stop talking and let's sit down and talk about it!" But only Draco seemed to notice her, Harry put down his wand taking sudden interest on his feet.

"Ginny." Draco addressed, because of all the tension he only seemed to notice her now. "I can't stand seeing you with this stupid... arrogant... lia—"

Harry gaped at the two, shocked at the scene playing before him, Ginny kissed Draco as he was talking. He felt sick to his gut, _he_ didn't want to see this. This is probably the most awkward thing that had happened. He tried leaving but Draco blocked the door, he was stuck. He sunk down in his seat and stared out the window. Thinking.

As soon as their lips parted, Draco let out a small, "Oh."

Harry stood up and left the room quickly. He smiled at the sound of Ron shouting at his sister. "You're with Malfoy now?! What happened to Harry?! What's going on? This isn't funny!"

He ended up alone again. He slowly entered his compartment and rested his back on the cushions. He doubted that he'd end up with Hermione, though. She was perfect and he wasn't... There wasn't a chance in hell that they'd end up together...There was a knock on his door which snapped him out of his trance. He groaned inwardly and walked towards the door.

"Oh, hello there, Hermione."

----

_**A/N: yes, I edited this too. I decided editing my stories because I want chapter 5 to make sense. sorry for the inconvenience. I hope this story is better. Don't worry, this is an HHR fic, not HG. :D**_

_**Review. I'll give you all virtual candy bars. :)**_


	3. Being Obnoxious and It's Fine

_**A/N: sorry if it took me a while to get this posted. I got all jittery while making it. Thank you for being patient.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

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"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, shifting uncomfortably as Hermione entered his compartment and took a seat in front of him. The look on Hermione's face made Harry worry, she nibbled on her bottom lip, her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were watery. He bent his head in defeat when he realized that she had no intention of answering his question. He leaned his head on the window, watching the deep blue water of the lake sway. It was as if someone cast a silencing spell among the two, for a moment Harry even forgot that his "future wife" was sitting right in front of him, instead of seeing the woman in his dream, he saw a normal girl, nibbling on her bottom lip, shifting uncomfortable on her seat. He watched her closely and then rolled his eyes. She really wasn't going to answer her question—it frustrated him. But for a second, their eyes met, and Harry simply nodded at her and stood up, maybe this was the time for visiting the back of the train for some fresh air.

He walked slowly, he looked down, and the ground was like water— wobbly and somewhat delicate—or was it just his vision? It didn't matter now. He was afraid that with every step he took, he was getting farther and farther away from safe land. After what seemed like hours of walking, he finally arrived there. He went through the curtains and pushed the heavy steel door open. He walked towards the rail and leaned on it, watching the mountains and trees slowly disappear before him. He sighed, another year of Hogwarts. Another year of watching people move on and change, another year of being stuck, not being able to live life because of _him._

His thoughts suddenly shifted to his mother and father. How they sacrificed their lives for him, and how much he'd screw up in life. Perhaps the only right thing he'd done was to stay away and detach himself from his close friends and loved ones, and set out every month with Dumbledore to destroy fragments of Voldemort's soul. He sighed—again and swore to himself that either he kills Voldemort, or Voldemort kills him, and if he does, Harry would make sure that he brings that murderous, evil, heartless wizard with him.

"What are you doing there, Potter?" Asked a voice behind him.

"Nothing, Malfoy. How's Ginny?" he asked, not leaving his gaze at the beautiful scenery, the wind blowing through his hair.

"Oh, she's alright. I'm sorry about a while ago."

"No, it's fine."

Draco stepped closer so that he and Harry stood beside each other. "I saw you with Hermione on the compartment."

"You did?"

"What were you guys talking about?"

"We weren't talking."

"Oh." Draco said, "So it was purely—"

"We didn't do that, either." Harry snapped.

"Well, you guys are pretty boring, then." he shrugged.

"Bugger off, Malfoy."

"Are you okay, Potter? Listen, I know you've got feelings for Ginny but—"

"I'm fine, Malfoy. And I don't feel anything for Ginny."

"Oh well, I've got to go. Ginny's waiting for me, I hope that her brother isn't there. Wish me luck."

Harry didn't bother to say good luck, he knew that he didn't need it.

--

"Hi Harry."

"Hello Ron."

"I'm sorry—"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry about your sister, though." He chuckled, "I didn't see that coming... I think you should go there now. Malfoy and she might be having a blast."

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Wait—really?"

Harry didn't say anything, instead he got caught up in his own thoughts, watching the sky. He sighed.

"Listen, Harry, you should still stay away from my sister, but we're cool, right?" Ron pressed.

"Okay." Harry said, "You better go now, I'm serious, Malfoy and she—"

"Alright Harry thanks!" Ron said running off towards the end of the train.

Harry sighed, he wasn't exactly in the mood to entertain anybody. He watched the sun slowly descend, and his thoughts suddenly shifted to his parents—again. Were they able to watch the sun set at the Hogwarts Express like he did? Were they just like Draco and Ginny? Or worse—were they like him?

--

"Harry I—"

"What now?"

"I'm sorry I was just... nevermind."

Harry turned around, and as soon as he did, he wanted to take back what he said earlier. "Oh, Hermione... I thought you were someone else. It's fine."

"Oh." Hermione said and stood beside him, watching the sunset. "You miss them, don't you?"

"What are you now? A mind reader? Not too long ago you stuck your nose into my business and yet here we are—again." He said coldly.

"Git..." She mumbled, Harry turned around, as she started to walk away.

He held out his arm. "Hermione, I..."

As soon as she left his sight, Harry sighed. "I'm sorry."

--

"I think you've sighed at least 35 times today." Said another person.

Harry groaned inwardly, but still forced a smile, his gaze firmly set on the fleeting figures before him, watching the stars slowly creep up the sky and it's purple color gave such serenity and peace.

"And I think that you've kissed Draco at least 10 times today."

Harry didn't see, but he was sure that Ginny turned crimson red.

"It's getting late now. You should change into your robes."

"I'll do it later. When we're near already."

"Erm, we're only 40 minutes away from Hogwarts."

"Oh."

"Come on, Harry, you've been out there all day."

"Alright." Harry turned around and joined Ginny on their way to the compartment. He frowned to see that there was no sign of Hermione. No slightly bushy brown hair patrolling the corridors or the sweet tone of her voice that rang in the hallway, she wasn't there.

"Where's Hermione?" He asked.

"Oh, she's probably with Ron, Luna and Neville. Come in." She gestured towards the compartment, Harry went in to see Seamus, Dean, Draco, Lavender, Parvati, Pansy and Blaise, sitting in the compartment which had an enlargement spell and appeared to look like a VIP room, instead of the usual Red seats, yellow walls and carpeted floor, the seats became leather sofa's, the room was a dark purple color and the floor was covered in black tiles. There was a mini-bar by the side of the room and there was music by The Trolls booming throughout the room. Instead of sitting down and talking with his friends, he changed into his robes quickly, darted towards the mini-bar and had a bottle of Firewhisky, and sat down by the bar.

"Harry, come join us! At the rate you're going there won't be anything left for us!" Lavender called, making everyone erupt with laughter. Harry rolled her eyes and ignored her. Finishing his bottle of Firewhisky in one gulp.

"My father was nice enough to give me permission to do this with our compartment, it's cool, huh?" Said Pansy, who slid next to him.

"I don't care." He said coldly.

"I think you do..." Pansy said and leaned to kiss him, but Harry retaliated and moved his head sideways, making her kiss his cheek.

"You can leave now, Pansy." He grunted.

"Alright. Bye, Harry." She smirked, waved flirtatiously and left him.

After another bottle, Harry thought that he needed to see Hermione, say sorry and—

"Harry!" Ginny called and pulled him arm towards the group, "Join us, we need an extra person for 'I never'."

"But I don't want to play I nefer." Harry mumbled, "I think I'll get more Butterbeer." He said childishly and walked towards the minibar.

"Just join! Why do you have to sulk anyway!?" Ginny asked stubbornly, dragging Harry to a corner and crossing her arms. Harry became slightly tipsy, which made his vision slightly blurred and his legs wobbly, he took another sip of Firewhisky and dropped the bottle to the floor with a loud 'thug'.

"Everyone get out first, I need to talk to Ginny here." He yelled.

"What's the matter, Potter?" Draco asked, walking towards the two.

"Nothing, I just need at least 20 minutes."

"Alright, see you later." Draco said and approached Ginny, kissing her on the lips.

The room became empty in a matter of seconds, while Harry was shaking his head, cussing under his breath, Ginny shifted uncomfortably, her head in her hands. He looked at her sympathetically, but when she didn't as much as return his gaze, he felt his temper rising. He wanted to say something—anything. But he didn't know what to say. She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.

_Ginny, I sulk because I feel sorry for myself, I'm pathetic._ That's what he wanted to say, instead "It's nothing." came out of his mouth.

Harry dug his hands into his pockets and found himself walking towards the back of the train. When he saw Hermione, standing by the rail, her hair blowing softly against her radiant skin, his body went rigid, as if her presence opened up some door of memories in his mind. Harry wanted to talk to her badly, and not because of the dream, but because of what he felt around her.

"I'm sorry." He blurted out, "I was stupid."

Hermione remained still, her back to him. She still looked up at the night sky and sighed.

"When were you not, Harry? I can even smell the Firewhisky from here."

He walked closer and stood beside her, he looked at her and smiled, she returned it and stared into his deep emerald eyes. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, but Harry quickly broke it off. Hermione's brows furrowed in disappointment and nibbled on her bottom lip, looking up at the dark blue sky dotted with stars. Harry frowned, thinking of how much a mess his life had been.

"It's fine..." She said, grinning.

Harry smiled as he felt his stomach do summersaults, twisting and churning. It's amazing how much two words could affect your day. She understood him, even though they've only talked for a few times.

"Do you go here a lot?" He asked her.

"Well, yes."

"What? But I've been visiting this place since the 4th year and I haven't seen you."

"You just didn't notice me... That's all." She shrugged.

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine."

He sighed, and drummed his fingers along the cold metal railing. He ran his fingers along his hair and put his head in hands, and sighed—again.

"You sigh a lot." She said.

"So I've been told. Why? Do I disturb you?"

"No, it's fine."

Harry smiled again. She seemed fine with everything, his rude personality, his foolish antics and his stubborn decisions. She seemed to make everything okay, everything... _fine._

"Yeah, I guess it is."

And for the 3rd time today, Hermione smiled at him, and he returned it in a matter of seconds, her hazel colored eyes stared into his emerald green ones, and he wanted it to last.

"Harry, we're almost there—oh. Nevermind. Sorry." Said Ginny, who turned bright pink as the scene unraveled before her. Harry and Hermione broke off their gaze and stared at her.

"Oi! Potter! We've 10 minutes left!" Called Draco.

"Draco!" Ginny shushed.

"Oh, just kidding." He smiled sheepishly.

The two left immediately, Harry rolled his eyes at them and Hermione burst into fits of laughter.

"They're—funny." She said in between her giggles.

Harry laughed—but just a bit. "They are."

Her laughter died out soon. "Harry, I'll be going to my compartment now, okay? I'll see you later. I'm sorry about earlier."

He didn't say anything, but continued to feel the relaxing wind against his pale skin. Hermione's footsteps dissolved among the rustling of the students fixing their belongings and their excited voices.

"It's fine." He told himself. "It's all going to be fine."

----

Harry walked down the corridor that led him to the Great Hall. He stood before the large door. He shook his head and headed up to the 7th floor, deciding that he would skip the start of term. He arrived at the Room of Requirement, walked past it thrice, with the phrase _I need a place to stay—alone, _in his head. In no later than 10 seconds, a door appeared right in front of him. The room had a fireplace, and there was a black couch sitting in front of it. Harry sighed, this wasn't exactly what he wanted, but he could do with it. He sat quietly on the couch, looking out the window. He rested his hand on the arm rest and leaned back, groaning slightly. He jumped at the tapping sound against the window, and saw Fawkes perched on the window sill, and retracted its wings and pecked the glass persistently.

Harry took the letter tied on its right leg. He untied the string and rolled it open.

_Harry, _

_I will not question why you are in the Room of Requirement instead of in The Great Hall, enjoying the Start of Term feast with your friends. The same guidelines this year, but be prepared for your N.E.W.T classes. Everyone will be going back to their dormitories at 9:30. I trust that you are familiar with a __**Mimbelus Mimbletomia.**_

_5 days from now, Saturday, at 7pm. _

_p.s. I like Licorice Wands._

Harry crumpled the piece of paper and threw it on the floor, frustrated with himself. He didn't know why he ended up skipping the feast and staying in the Room of Requirement, either.

----

Harry walked out of the Room of Requirement, his stomach grumbling loudly. He went to Professor Dumbledore's office, and confirmed the details of the horcrux journey. He went back to the Fat Lady portrait at 11, after having trouble with the passwords, "Mimbelus Mimbletomia" He muttered, this was his 6th time. And suddenly the portrait flew open. He rolled his eyes. _Finally._

He was surprised to see the common room completely empty. He shrugged and plopped down on the couch in front of the fireplace, his stomach grumbled loudly. And he sighed. He then noticed a plate full of food at the other end of the table. He walked towards it, there was a note beside the plate. The writing was nothing like Ginny's—it wasn't loopy and curved. Instead it was just straight, plain and normal. _Normal, _he liked the sound of that.

_Stop sighing. You should eat._

Harry smiled and tucked the letter inside his pocket and ate his food happily. As soon as he was done eating, he vanished its contents and headed towards the stairs. When he started walking up the marble steps towards the boys' dormitory, he heard someone groaning. He approached the chair by the corner and found Hermione shivering, asleep on it. He smiled at her, took off his robe and wrapped her around it. He slowly brought her up to the prefects' dormitory, and settled her down on her bed.

"Thanks, Ron." She smiled, half-asleep.

Harry seemed hurt by what she said, but tried his best to smile, "No problem." He choked out.

"Goodnight, Hermione." He said and closed the door behind him.

Hermione woke up with a smile plastered on her face. She was warm and comfy, and better yet—Ron brought her here. She dressed into her school robes happily, and when she went down to the common room, she saw Harry and Ginny talking.

"Hey Ginny, where's Ron?" She asked.

"Ron? Erm, I think he's still asleep. Why?" Ginny asked.

"Could you give his robe back? I don't want to wake him."

"I'll do it." Said Harry, standing up as Hermione handed it to him. "I'll make sure he gets it."

"Thank you." She smiled, "Did you enjoy dinner?"

Harry laughed slightly, "Yeah, thanks."

----

At the Great Hall, Harry approached Ron, who was eating his breakfast eagerly, shoving all sorts of food inside his mouth.

"Here." Harry said, and handed his robe.

"What's this?"

"Hermione told me to give it to you."

"But, this isn't mine. It's yours, you git, and maybe this is another 'belated April Fools' gift."

"Really?" Harry asked, trying to look dumbfounded. "Oh. Sorry. Nevermind..."

Ron laughed, "Fancy a game of Quidditch?"

"Don't worry Ron, we'll have practice soon. That's what Angelina said."

"Great." Ron grinned.

"Listen, erm, I'll go first, okay?" Harry asked.

"Sure." Ron said, stuffing his face with chicken.

--

"Oi! Malfoy!" Harry called, running after Draco.

"What do you want, Potter?"

"We're going to kick your arse in Quidditch."

"Yeah right." Draco said, "Have you seen Ginny?"

"I was just with her a while ago at the common room."

Draco scowled, "Didn't do anything?"

"Nothing."

"Good." He said, smiling, "She's my girlfriend, now. So, how are you and Granger?"

"Me? And Hermione?" Harry asked, surprised. "Nothing..."

"You skipped the feast. Why am I not surprised? Oh yeah, Pansy was looking for you and, there's a party being hosted by yours truly, at the Room of Requirement, Thursday. 7pm."

"Uggh." Harry groaned, "Won't she ever leave me alone?"

"No." Draco smiled tauntingly.

Harry shoved Draco, "Stop mocking me, Draco _Weasley._"

"Hey! It was just a kiss..." Draco said, slightly angered.

Harry laughed mockingly and left him.

--

He went back to the common room before heading out for first period. He took the robe Hermione returned, folded it neatly and put it on the shallow part of his trunk. Hoping that Hermione would sleep on the couch more and he'd always have a reason to stay up late, check on her, bring it out and carry her to sleep—all for her.

Harry doubted that he's fallen in love with her. He was just being... _nice,_ simply returning the favor. But the way he acted towards her, it was as if he'd go back to Hogwarts every year of his life as long as he was with her, staring up into the purple night sky, with wind blowing against their skin, enjoying moments of piece and happiness with her at the back of the Hogwarts Express train, or maybe simple glances and smiles at each other, or carrying her up to her dorm and she leaving food for him when he missed dinner—_those_ simple things made his days... _fine._

Of course he'd be happy with his friends, but there was always something _different, normal... I'm not making sense._ He told himself. He wanted to be normal, no Voldemort, Sirius' back, he wanted to be normal, and not different. He'd give anything to be normal. He was sick of seeing beloved ones die right in front of him, so what did he do? Fight. But that didn't mean that he wanted a completely different life. But with Hermione... he felt like different wasn't so bad after all, she _made_ him feel _different_ around her. Which frankly, felt good. But who in the right mind would go out with him? He cheats, messes up, lies, distances himself from everything...

He could change if he wanted to...

_If he wanted to..._

----

Harry stood in front of the room which took Harry time to be convinced that it was the Room of Requirement. His jaw dropped in awe, the room was large. And they somehow managed to get the teachers from coming here. But it _was_ a prefect party. There was a fountain of butterbeer flowing smoothly in the middle of the room. Music from The Witches' played loudly, it was the Yule Ball all over again. He swore to himself to never date Parvati—or was it her sister?—again. He entered the room, and as he did, heads turned. Everyone looked at him—and it freaked him out.

"Oi! Harry! Over here!" Called Draco, waving his right arm in the air, while his left was securely around Ginny's waist. Harry cringed at the two, he certainly didn't come to the party to witness their first date... or their first dance... other _firsts. _He dreaded approaching them, but did anyway. He guessed that he'd suffer through pet names, kissing, and other goofy stuff real couples do through the night.

"What's with everyone?" Harry whispered, "I mean they're acting as if they've seen me for the first time."

"Face it." Draco said, grinning. "You're part of the V.I.P. listing here. You're bound to be stared at. But seriously—why do you question that? You've loved the attention since—well, long ago."

"Oh get off it, Malfoy." Harry said, "You've loved the spotlight more than I have."

"Draco's right, you know." Ginny interrupted. "I mean, don't tell me you were going to be discreet when you got on top of your broom and flew throughout the Great Hall, asking Cho to be your girlfriend in mid-air did you? I mean, seriously. No one saw you." She said sarcastically, sipping her drink.

Draco laughed, "Oh yeah. Remember those days, Harry? The teachers were surrounding you, interrogating you then all of a sudden, you said that I hexed you to do it."

"At least it got us in detention. I still couldn't handle those... O.W.L practice reviews every night." Harry said, and ordered one butterbeer. "I did both of us a favor."

"But I was going to help Ginny do her homework!"

"Oh _please_, Draco. You and I both know that I could handle my homework just fine. You just followed me to the library and flirted with me non-stop."

"Ha ha, I guess I did." Draco said, blushing slightly.

"But it was cute." She said, turning bright crimson red as well. And the both of them laughed—awkwardly. "Harry, Ginny and I will go off for a while, okay? Enjoy the party, man. I don't want my best friend to hate the party we prefects worked hard on." Draco said, then they left him, sitting by the bar. Sipping on butterbeer.

Harry rolled his eyes discreetly, _this_ is what he'd been dreading. Cute stories about giving candy in 2nd year or purposely getting someone locked in a cupboard during 5th year or whatever... he didn't want to hear about that. Considering on how much he got used to on-again and off-again relationships, romance didn't come easily. He felt..._ Envious._ That they were going to live their lives during the War. And while they were out going to their 'perfect' little honeymoon, where was he? On some island, fighting his arse off. In this case, while they were out snogging each other senseless, he was alone, feeling sorry for himself when he shouldn't, and counting on Butterbeer and Firewhisky to drown his worries. _Pathetic._ He told himself, _You're pathetic._

"Who's pathetic?" Asked a girl in a black shirt and black skirt just below the knees, her brown locks tied into a messy half-ponytail, and her skin shined, her eyes a deep brown color... Her smile so bright, it actually seemed, delicate, _fragile._

"No one..." He lied.

"Oh."

"How have you been?"

"I'm okay, Ron's been really nice. He always carries me to the prefect's bedroom and tucks me in...Sometimes I even doubt that it's Ron. But still, he's sweet."

"Oh. Him." He said bitterly, but tried his best to hid his bitterness towards the man she'd been saying thank you too all night. 'Thank you Ron.', 'You're so sweet Ron.', 'You're always taking care of me, Ron.' It was driving him crazy.

"Why? Something disappointing you?"

"Did it ever come to your senses that maybe it wasn't Ron? Maybe someone else?"

"Well, yes, once. But who would do that for me, anyway? Besides, Ron—whether you like it or not—can be sweet sometimes."

"I would." He said.

"Excuse me?" She asked, slightly shocked at what he said.

"I said I would. I would do that for you. I've been doing that for you since, well. Start of term."

"But start of term was 3 days ago." She said.

"Exactly."

"You're lying." She said, nervously.

"No. I'm not."

"Well, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"When you said, 'Thank you, Ron.' That night, do you think that I'd wake you just to say, 'I'm Harry. And you better know that'?"

"Honestly? You would. That would be typical, Harry."

"What do you mean, typical Harry?"

"Obnoxious." She snapped, grabbed her purse and left. And just like that, the beautiful smile she held, that seemed almost fragile shattered. She and headed straight towards the common room. Harry groaned and didn't think of pursuing her. _What's the deal with her, anyway?_

"Hey there..." Someone whispered into his ear.

Harry rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Pansy?"

"What do you say that we get out of here?" She hissed.

"I don't want to, Pansy. Never will I get 'out of here' with you. Are you daft?" He said offensively.

"You and I both know that we're attracted to each other. We're drunk and having a great time in this party. So, what do you say? Want to get out of here?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not attracted to you? Seriously, you and me—it's never going to happen. So go and flirt with someone else for a change."

"You're always playing hard to get, Harry." She whispered into his ears and left.

----

That night, he went back to the common room slightly drunk. But when he saw the familiar bushy haired girl sleeping on the chair, with books and pieces of parchment spread across the table, he smiled to himself. He took of his robe and wrapped her in it. He also cast a levitation spell on her stuff, and it levitated behind him all the way to the prefects' dormitory. He tucked her in bed, and fixed her school things and set them on the table on the other side of the room. He got a piece of parchment, a quill and ink. He wrote a note and set it on the bedside lamp. He sat beside her on the bed, "Good night, Hermione. Sweet dreams." He said.

"Thank you, Harry." She smiled, half-asleep. "I'm sorry..."

Harry smiled, "It's okay. It's okay, you should get some sleep now." And left the room.

----

Hermione woke up tucked safely in bed. She slurred, sat up and looked around, she saw a note. It read:

_I couldn't help it, even if you call me obnoxious. You're just so pretty when you're asleep._

_-Harry._

----

_**A/N: There you go. Please review and tell me what you think. :)**_


	4. Ghosts of His Past

_**A/N: Here's chapter 4. sorry for the wait. Thanks for reading this. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own HP**_

**Chapter 4: Ghosts of his Past**

----

Harry wake up with his head pounding, and the slightest bit of noise made his head throb even more.

He didn't remember his night that much. But he did remember tucking Hermione in. He looked at the time, it was 6 o'clock in the morning. He massaged his temples, trying to make the pain go away, but another sharp stab at the back of his head made Harry groan and fall back to bed.

"Rough day, huh? I can't sleep either." Ron asked, groggily.

"You have no idea. I don't remember much of the night, all I remember is--" He stopped, he was talking to _Ron_, another person protective of Hermione..

"Is?"

"Nothing." Harry gasped in pain again, "There are squirrels and birds on my head. Make them stop chirping." He pleaded, greatly annoyed by the loud squeaking. Rolling in pain.

"Ha ha ha ha ha—Ow. My head. At least you've got cute forest critters, I feel like I'm riding a portkey non-stop. You were mental at the party, though."

"What time did I come back?" Harry asked, his arm still clasped around his forehead.

"Around, 3 hours ago." Said Ron weakly, lying back down on the couch.

"3 am?? Uggh, I need to sleep. But I can't." Harry complained. "What happened, anyway?"

"Erm, at around 11, you went back to the common room. Then went back to the party. Erm, you and Draco had a drinking contest, then, uhm. You made out with someone. That's the last thing I remember."

"Merlin, I think I won—judging by how bad this hang-over is. Uggh, stop the pain." He groaned, trying to stand up, but failing miserably.

"Where are you going, Harry? Breakfast isn't until half an hour."

"Hermione." He said, walking towards the door, only in his black shorts and grey undershirt.

"Okay." Ron approved, trying not to protest, he head was still swirling.

Harry walked slowly towards the prefect dormitory. He knocked on the door, "Hermione?" He mumbled.

He knocked once more, "Hermione." He said, a bit louder. Sticking his ear to the door. He twisted the knob it surprisingly was open. When he opened the door cautiously, he saw Hermione sound asleep. He smiled and slowly walked to the couch. He felt another wave of pain go through his body, he groaned inwardly and sat by the couch. He intended to ask Hermione for a hang over potion but there was something stopping him from waking her up. Maybe he'd wait for her to wake up. He closed his eyes—trying to block out the pain. He resisted the urge to sleep but failed, he was soon engulfed in black.

Hermione woke up from a dreamless sleep, she stretched her arms high in the air and found herself tucked safely in her bed. She looked around, and heaved a sigh of relief when she found her Transfiguration homework on the table across her bed _I've worked on that all night_ she told herself. She looked towards the bedside table and smiled widely when there was a note on it.

_I couldn't help it, even if you call me obnoxious. You're just so pretty when you're asleep._

_-Harry_

She turned a brilliant shade of red, despite everything she had said to him, done to him, he still had it in his heart to bring her to her room and tuck her in bed. She felt the warmth of his robe surround her, and she smiled.

"Uggh, stop the chirping..." She heard someone say. She quickly turned her head to the direction of the sofa, and she saw Harry sound asleep on it. She smiled to herself, she approached him and slowly shook his shoulder.

"Harry..." She said softly.

"Squirrels." He mumbled softly. She only smiled at him and stroked his raven-colored hair. Then all of a sudden his eyes flew open.

"Hey there." She said happily.

"Hang-over." He mumbled, then pressed his fingers to his temples. "I'm never looking at woodland critters the same way ever again."

Hermione laughed sweetly, she then opened the cupboard on the other side of the room, she took a yellow-colored potion and put some of its contents inside a glass.

"Drink up." She said and gave it to him, she scrunched her nose when she saw Harry's reaction—his face scrunched up because of the horrid smell. He refused to drink it, still mumbling about portkeys and pumpkin juice. "I think you should pinch your nose." She suggested.

"You think?" Harry retorted grumpily, after drinking it all in one gulp, "That's nasty..."

"It'll hurt a lot at the first hour, but it'll go after."

"Bugger, our first period is Potions." He complained, "I don't think I can hold it by that time."

"That's what they all say." She said.

Harry sat upright on the sofa, "I'm going to have breakfast now..." he said slowly. Hermione held out her hand and he took it without hesitation and helped him stand up.

"Thanks, Hermione." His hand not leaving hers, his gaze firmly set on the pair of beautiful deep brown eyes before him. She returned the gaze as well, staring into his brilliant emerald green eyes, she turned a bright shade of pink—for the second time this morning and smiled sheepishly. Harry then felt a wave of pain sweep through him again and let go of her grasp. "Thank you, again." He said and walked towards the door.

"Wait! Harry!" Hermione called. "Your robe..."

"You can keep it." Harry then smiled at her and closed the door behind him and headed towards the great hall. Making Hermione turn a brilliant shade of red for the 3rd time in the morning.

----

Harry sat in the Great Hall in his school uniform, eating. With each time he chewed sending waved of pain and dizziness throughout his head. He put his spoon and fork down—he cringed, he needed silence, but since all the students of Hogwarts came running in, chatting excitedly and eating their food, the clanking sounds of spoon and forks became louder, thus more unbearable.

"Draco!" Harry called after the blonde-haired boy. "Oi! Draco! You git!"

"What, Potter?" Draco yelled loudly. "My head hurts!"

Harry put his hands to his ears, "Be quiet Draco, hang-over here." He warned.

"What?!" He shouted, "I can't hear you!"

Then it hit him. Draco got slightly deaf because of the loud music last night. Harry groaned and sat down by the stairs.

"What are you doing there, Potter!" Shouted Draco, who was approaching him.

"Shut up, Malfoy! Ugh! Shush!" He shouted at him, hands still pressed against his ears, wincing.

"Oh yeah! You can't stand noise when you have hang-overs!" Draco said loudly. "Sorry! See you later, mate! I'll get some hang-over potion in the prefects' dormitory and something to stop the annoying buzzing in my ears!"

Harry rolled his eyes and walked his way towards the Gryffindor common room. When he entered, he plopped down on the couch beside Ron. "Make it stop." Ron groaned.

Harry laughed, but in a matter of seconds, his laughter was engulfed into gasps of pain. He leaned back on the sofa and summoned his Potions book and pieces of parchment, scribbling his name on it using his quill. "Stupid 'Essay on Antidotes'... I swear Snape will—ouch." His hand flew to his forehead—again, trying to ease the throbbing of his head.

"Honestly, you guys are pathetic."

Upon hearing her sweet voice, Harry turned around to meet Hermione's deep brown eyes. "Hey there..." he said quietly, smiling at her.

"Hey." She replied, smiling back at him, gazing into his emerald green eyes.

And in that moment, Harry didn't have a care in the world.

----

Harry was sitting beside Draco in Potions class, he put his head in his hands, massaging his temples, trying to rid his head of the pain. Draco shifted uncomfortably, sniffing, he had an allergy to Salamander Tail, which was obviously the main ingredient for the potion they were concocting for the day.

"All of you will submit your essay on Antidotes tomorrow morning." Snape's voice boomed throughout the room, making Harry wince in pain. Snape quickly noticed this and glared at him. "What do you want, Potter?"

"Nothing sir." He said.

Harry felt a wave of relief go through him, the annoying throbbing of his head ceased, and his mind cleared up, he breathed deeply and looked at Hermione, giving her a smile and mouthing 'Thank you' she smiled in return and diverted her attention towards the blackboard, listening intently to Professor Snape.

"Potter, has it been an hour? I take it that you're potion has taken effect already." Whispered Draco.

"It did. Yours will probably take 20 more minutes." He responded.

"Potter!" Snape bellowed. "What is it that you and Mr. Malfoy here are discussing? Care to share it with the class?"

"No sir." Harry said blandly.

"Stand." Snape ordered and Harry complied grudgingly.

"Now, tell the class what it is you and Mr. Malfoy were discussing."

"I asked him how long it takes for a hang-over to go away. And he said it usually takes lots of rest and a hang-over potion." Harry lied.

"Someone's been drinking." Snape tutted. "Tell me Mister Potter, where did you get these _drinks_?"

Everyone in the room looked at Harry worriedly. Signaling that he mustn't rat them out—turns out the Professors weren't aware of the party, they were too caught up in their work. Harry smirked. _As if he would_.

"I snuck it in, sir."

"So I suspect that you still have a hang-over." Snape replied coldly.

"Yes sir." He lied.

"Detention for 5 days. And a little present for you." Snape said and approached him, put his cold snake-like fingers on his head, muttered a spell that Harry could not extinguish. All of a sudden Harry felt a rush of pain throughout his head, as if his headache came back 10 times worse. Harry winced, but tried to show no signs of pain, his hands pressed hardly against the table, his body shaking. Harry merely glared at his professor. "Are you done, sir?" He asked arrogantly.

Snape merely stared at him and turned around on his heel. "Class dismissed."

Everyone stood and left the room without hesitation. But Harry wobbled towards the door and left, stopping as soon as he turned the corner. He eyed Snape closely, and as soon as he saw him leave the Dungeon classroom, Harry snuck in. The first thing he saw was a pensieve, there was a surge of temptation that ran through his veins, and as if there was a magnetic force pulling him towards it, and he couldn't resist it. He had seen a pensieve before, on some occasions, but he had only peeked into it once—during his fourth year. Harry found himself walking towards it, he scolded himself. "Harry, you mustn't" He told himself over and over again. He didn't mind the throbbing of his head, curiosity completely took over him. He cautiously looked around, making sure that the room was completely empty.

Harry dipped his head in it, and found himself spiraling down into one of his Professors' memories—Professor Snape's. Harry fell hard on the concrete floor on his bum with a slight "oomph." He stood and brushed off some dirt that stuck to his robes, eyeing the area closely. It was night time, he breathed the smell of relaxing fresh air, taking in the feeling of it against his pale skin that seemed to illuminate because of the moon's light. He looked at the Manor that stood proudly in front of him, and his jaw dropped in awe—the house was beautiful, adorned with orchids that wrapped around the metal gate, he could hear laughter from where he was standing and felt a rush of glee throughout his body. He kept grinning once his eye caught sight of the sign "Godric's Hollow" proudly hanging on a lamp post next to the house. _It's them, _he said to himself.

He then saw a hooded figure approach the door gate, observing the house.

"Are you sure that this is it, Severus?" Said a person Harry could not recognize, he seemed in his mid-50s.

"Yes, m'Lord." Replied the man.

"Then let us go. I have a prophecy to prevent." He laughed—deviously, who opened the gate and walked across the front lawn, Severus followed suit.

Harry then recognized the man—Voldmeort. And worse—Snape was helping him through it! He felt his blood boiling which was quickly replaced with fear, this was obviously the night. His feet stayed rooted to the ground, deciding whether he witness this or not, but then, he would be _there._ He would know the _truth._

Harry swallowed his fears and slowly approached the front door, following the two figures walking slowly towards it. There was a knock on the door, and Harry cringed as he heard a cheerful man trot down the stairs shouting "Wait a minute!"

He opened the door and Harry felt depression at the pit of his stomach as he saw his father's cheerful expression fall grim, his once gleeful and bright eyes tinted with a dash of fear, which was quickly replaced his anger. "You are not welcome here." He snarled, his wand firmly held by his hand, and raised it to Snape's face.

"We are here to kill the boy, give us the boy, James." Hissed Voldemort from under his hood.

"Over my dead body." He yelled and retreated towards the kitchen.

"That can be arranged." Voldemort laughed, shooting spells at him, and Severus followed suit.

"LILY! TAKE HARRY AND GO!" he shouted with all his might, dodging Voldemort's and Snape's spells which were aimed at him.

After putting up quite a fight, James finally bought some time to rush towards the nursery where baby Harry was being kept at, as well as Lily.

Harry tried running after them, walking up the stairs, but a strong force pulled him backwards. Harry held on closely to the railing of the stairs, trying to push himself up. But he got frustrated even more when he noticed his hand went right through the wooden railing. He felt hot, fresh tears welling up in his eyes with frustration. Snape and Voldemort were having a conversation after putting up anti-apparation charms throughout the house, and time couldn't go slower. Harry heaved himself to the next step... then the next step, beads of sweat were dripping down his face, as he devoted all his power to walk up the stairs. Harry felt determination pile up inside him and worked his way towards the next step. Then another powerful wave of an air-like force pushed him and he rolled down the stairs, crying quietly with frustration. _I need to see them. I need to see them._ He hated that he couldn't go far into the house and join his parent's, this was Snape's memory, after all.

Harry looked up—and saw his father holding his wand and a sword in hand, Harry noticed the familiar 'Godric Gryffindor' engraved on the steel, he saved Ginny in the 2nd year using and requested that everyone's memory of the Chamber of Secrets be obliviated except for a fair few, which was obediently done by Dumbledore.

"STUPE—" And a green light swirled out of Snape's wand, hitting Jame's square on the chest, he fell and stumbled next to the fireplace. Harry flew beside his father's lifeless body, he couldn't stand how his father looked—his eyes were open, staring into outer space and were blank. Harry put his hands over his father's forehead and tried closing his eyes shut. But his hand went through it, making Harry well up with tears again, he got frustrated, he couldn't do anything.

He felt the familiar force pulling him back, further and further away from his father's lifeless body, he was screaming and trying to break free, trying to stay beside his father. Another ear-splitting shriek came from the upper floor. Harry had to choose between his mother and his father, he quickly waved goodbye at his father. "Thank you." He said quietly and rushed upstairs, seeing his mother holding Baby Harry securely in her arms, she turned her back to hide her baby and another green light shot out of Snape's wand, hitting Lily on her back. She fell and so did Baby Harry.

"Mum, don't die." He pleaded. "Come on, I know you can do it. Wake up. Wake up..."

Harry managed to think of a healing spell that reverses the effects of a spell, but only on a few. He brought out his wand, put it by her back, _"__Reprendre Aggettivo_" he repeated the spell for around 20 times, desperately trying to revive his mother, but he failed miserably. He sat down next to his mother and cried softly.

Harry felt the familiar swirling that make his stomach upset, but he held it in. And before he knew it, he was sitting in the Potion's classroom and rushed off, not because he was scared that Snape would barge in any minute, it was because he felt _sick._ He rushed towards the boy's bathroom and threw up in one of the cubicles. He approached the sink and put cold water to his face, and cleaned himself up. His eyes widened as he saw himself on the mirror. His hair was sticking out from all the sides of his head, his eyes and his nose were puffy and a reddish color, also his skin was pale-white.

He felt limp, as if someone stole his soul away from him. As he walked down the halls and took a short-cut towards the Great Hall. He was suddenly pinned to the wall, by Professor Snape, his snake-like fingers curled deeply around Harry's neck, his wand pressed hardly against Harry's chest.

"You... Killed... Them." Harry said, trying to break free from Snape's grasp.

"I know I did, Potter and I suggest that you keep your nose out of my business." He snarled, curling his fingers deeper into his skin. Harry coughed loudly.

"Everyone knows that you're betraying the Order. I know you're still faithful to Voldemort." He choked.

"How dare you say the Dark Lord's name! You filthy half-blood." He scowled.

"What a pity, your master was a 'filthy half-blood' too. And yet you worship him as if he's the purest of the pure." Harry said mockingly.

"You are not worth my explanation on why I turned my back on him." As he watched Harry turn pale, gasping for air.

"Doesn't feel too good, does it?" Snape smirked, taunting him.

Harry pressed his wand to Snape's chest. "Let. Me. Go." He said firmly. "Let me go or I'll hex you."

Snape didn't comply, "_Expeliarmus!_" he shouted, and Snape moved back, only slightly though, because of Harry's lack of air—he couldn't put more force into it.

Harry leaned on the wall, coughing loudly as Snape left him alone, laughing tauntingly at him.

----

Harry ran to the boys' dormitory, and dug into his trunk. He brought out a mirror that was wrapped in his Invisibility Cloak.

"Sirius." He said firmly. "Come on, mate, I need to talk to you, about my parents."

"Sirius." Harry felt his heart sink down to the pit of his stomach, no matter how much he denied it, his godfather really is dead.

"Come on." He said, frustrated as he sat down on the floor next to his bed and dropped the mirror on the carpeted floor. _He isn't coming back. _He told himself.

----

"Harry?" Asked Ginny, who entered the boys' dormitory. "Are you there? I just didn't see you at lunch and we were all worried and—oh dear. What happened to you?"

She saw Harry sitting on the floor, his knees to his chest. Looking as if he'd break down and cry any minute, Ginny sat beside him and put her hand to his shoulder.

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

Harry refused to answer, instead pointed his finger towards Sirius' and his two-way mirror, it was broken and there was pieces of glass scattered on the floor. Ginny gasped at the sight of his hands, shards of glass were cut deep into his knuckles.

"Oh dear." Ginny said, as her hand flew to her mouth.

"They're never coming back. And it's.." He didn't continue anymore, he couldn't bring himself to say, _And it's all my fault._

Ginny's arms were securely around him. "It'll be okay, Harry. It's okay. You can do this. You'll go through this. They knew what was going for them and they did it to save you, don't feel guilty..."

"Yeah." He said weakly nodding at her, "I'll be alright."

Harry remained in his spot, and didn't bother on attending Herbology and Divination. He went down to the Great Hall early and ate dinner—just enough to keep him through the night. Then rushed to the common room—to ask Ron for the homework and what he'd missed, and that was it. He sat on his bed for a while. And the only thing he was looking forward to was the horcrux hunt as well as tucking Hermione in bed. At around 11, he went down to the common room and smiled as he saw Hermione asleep on her favorite spot, again.

He took of his robe, and quickly put it over her. He carried her up the stairs, and set her on the bed. "Hermione..." Harry said, "Hermione, wake up."

"Hmm?" she asked as her eyes fluttered open.

"I won't be able to do this for you tomorrow night. So please sleep here, the chair downstairs is uncomfortable." He plastered a smile on his face.

"What do you mean?" Upon hearing this, Harry sighed, he didn't know how to explain it to her, a wave of silence swept through them.

"I won't be able to do this tomorrow," He repeated. "You should get some sleep now. I'll be back, soon." Tucking a stand of hair behind her ear.

"Okay, Harry."

Harry leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "Good night, Hermione."

He sighed, every time he left with Dumbledore, there was a chance that he'd never come back, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

----

Harry closed his eyes, the image of his godfather's death was still etched on his mind. He died right in front of him. And it was all his fault...

_"Harry, quick! Grab my arm! The Order will handle it!" Shouted Remus, trying to grab Harry by the arm who just kept slipping out of his grip._

_"No! I can fight!" Harry replied stubbornly, stunning 2 Death Eaters successfully. "I just can't leave them here!"_

_Remus quickly shot a full-body bind to another Death Eater and stunning 2 more. "Sirius and the others can handle it! Harry! We should go!"_

_"Sirius?" Harry called, not paying attention to Remus' orders, looking for his godfather who disappeared from sight 2 minutes ago. "Sirius? Where are you?"_

_Harry jumped over the large stone and found refuge behind it, Remus followed suit. Shooting stunning spells to their enemies, he quickly noticed at how stiff Harry went, and his pale skin illuminated by the moon made him look ghostly. He followed his gaze and gave out a gasp when he saw his best friend lying on the cold stone floor... lifeless. Harry limped towards his godfather and knelt down on the floor beside him... shaking. Remusheard Harry mumbling, "Hey, wake up... wake up. Come on Padfoot, now isn't the time for games...Please? Come on, don't give up on me now."_

_"That's it. We've got to go." Remus managed to say, grabbing him by the arm and apparating him to Twelve Grimmauld Place._

Harry's eyes flew open. Only Ginny knew about this, she knew everything. Harry asked Dumbledore if he could tell Draco but as expected, he declined. Draco didn't live with his parents anymore, since the incident of Lucius finding Harry in the Malfoy Manor, he moved out, Lucius didn't care at all, saying that his son was dead to him already, but Dumbledore still didn't trust him.

His thoughts suddenly shifted to Hermione, he contemplated, what _were_ they? They barely talked, just on rare occasions and simple 'hi's by the corridor. But he was always taking care of her, treating her as if they'd been best friends for years. There was something about her that made him feel different, not because of Harry's dream, he managed to convince himself to not marry or fall in love with her, in fear that he'd hurt her beyond repair. But, in the back of his mind, Harry felt as if she's starting to change him... He smiled to himself, he was a complete git, a git who was uncontrollably falling for her.

----

_**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter **_

_**Thank you to my reviewers. :) haha, you guys are the best! (the healing spell were the words "revival" and "reverse" translated in different languages)**_


	5. The Wardrobe

_**A/N: I hope you guys liked it.:D i worked real hard on this. My best friend TheFunkyDurian helped me here.**_

_**Check out her profile, ****I don't own HP.**_

**Chapter 5: The Wardrobe**

---

Harry climbed the stairs of the Gryffindor Tower with his heart at the bottom of his stomach. He _kissed_ her. He went up to her in her room and kissed her! Oh—what an idiot he is.

---

**Earlier this morning**

Harry found Hermione in her dormitory. And told her everything that had happened yesterday—she didn't say anything, and that was what made him happy. He didn't want anyone who would criticize his actions, he wanted someone who'd _listen._ And that someone was Hermione Granger, who was still in her pajamas staring at him intently. There was an awfully awkward silence engulfing the two of them. Hermione leaned in closer to get a better look into his eyes. She cupped his cheek softly, and whispered, "How did you get so brilliant," she paused for a while, "Sad eyes?"

She only whispered them, if she was made her voice any louder, the already fragile moment would tear apart. That scene was etched into his memory, taking mental snapshots on what time of day it was, what she was wearing, then suddenly. He kissed her.

After their lips broke apart, neither could speak.

As Harry kept staring longingly into her eyes, looking for that twinge of acceptance in her eyes, he leaned in once again to kiss her, but Hermione stepped back. "Harry... I" she said, there was a tint of disappointment in her voice. Harry felt that disappointment at the pit of his stomach, and he tried to hold it back.

"I know, uhm... yeah. Very stupid of me. That's uhm... " Harry said while walking away, "I'll erm... see you. Thanks, again."

_"Stupid, stupid, Harry..."_ He told himself as he walked toward the great hall for lunch, _"Thinking that she had the same feeling... get over it. Maybe life was much better when I had no recollection whatsoever with the girls I went with. At least I won't be able to remember that I was such a jackass."_

He headed towards the hospital wing, and when he caught sight of that familiar mop of red hair that smelled so much like peppermint. He always hated that smell, he preferred Lavender—(no, not the clingy classmate he made out with in 5th year after drinking too much punch)—, the cute freckles he used to trace... Then the incident in the train happened, he then realized that Ginny wasn't going to love him, and he didn't love her either. She and Draco just saved him from another disaster. Hermione's smell still lingered, her soft hair against his skin still made his hair stand up. He couldn't stop thinking about what a mess he had made of a perfectly good friendship to start with. It was as if everywhere he turned he saw the face that looked at him as if he was the worst person on earth. Maybe he was.

He leaned in closer to get a better glimpse of the romantic scene playing right in front of him. Draco was turning a bright crimson red while sitting upright in the hospital bed, Ginny flipped her hair to the other side and smiled shyly. Somehow, even if he loved Ginny, he wasn't the slightest bit jealous, he was happy for them.

"So, how you holding up with Harry?" Draco asked. Harry groaned and hated Draco for bringing up that topic- Ginny obviously was at the Hospital Wing for _Draco_ and not him.

"I don't like him anyway." Ginny said quietly, "It's just that—I don't know—I don't trust him. Have you noticed that he barely smiles at parties? Maybe 3 glasses of Firewhisky would do the trick but... He just... _sulks_ in the corner until a girl approaches him. I find it pathetic. He hasn't been himself lately, I think he's in love with someone. He just smiles most of the time for an unknown reason and it's scary." She said the last sentence with a hushed tone, her face sullen.

"Yeah, I've noticed, too." Draco laughed, "He's been talking about settling down and finally _living life _and _falling in love_. And frankly. I find it crazy talk. We're just teenagers, you know."

Ginny slouched down in her seat. Maybe 'Draco and Ginny' will never work at all—a few years from now they'd be telling their children that they used to date each other, saying 'we were just teenagers then'. She furrowed her brows in frustration and started fixing her uniform.

"You're cute when you do that." Draco said suddenly, his eyes gazing down on her.

"Do what?" She asked

"_That_," Draco fixed his uniform as well, furrowed his brows, too. "I find it adorable."

"I'm glad the fur's gone—I can't believe the potion exploded on you yesterday." Ginny giggled. The giggle lingered around the room for a moment, circulating slowly in the air. Draco looked at her intently, her brown eyes met his cold, distant grey ones.

"Hey Draco, Ginny." Harry greeted as he got out of his hiding spot, Draco and Ginny looked up in surprise. "So Draco, _really_ stupid thing you did back there."

"You know, Harry. Just because you're in love with Hermione doesn't mean that you can take this out on me." Draco grinned.

Ginny's jaw dropped down in awe. "You're in love with her?"

"Right, you see. I don't love Hermione, anyway." He lied, since he'd known her, his ability to lie was getting worse, he seemed so... honest with her.

_A leopard doesn't change its spots, Harry_, he told himself. _I'll just hurt Hermione again._

---

"Hermione!" Harry called after her while she was walking her way to the courtyard, "Hermione!" When he finally caught up to her he put his hand on her shoulder and made her face him.

She only glared at him—her anger seemed to drown out the corridor, since it was now empty. She only scowled at him, her eyes growing dim, she was clearly loathing him.

_You'll just hurt her, _said the annoying voice in Harry's head.

His mind kept telling himself that, but his heart and his body proved otherwise. He found himself talking to her, and he couldn't stop—he forced himself to stop talking, over and over again, but he still heard his own voice... "You know what? You're just afraid to be with me. You're scared. You're always standing safely behind the line! Take that leap, Hermione. Take that _risk_ and be with me!"

"You know who I am—I'm Hermione Granger, I like safe. Safe is good for me. And all your sweet things you've done for me show me what you really are—this is all a game, isn't it? I don't get that why after 6 years of not noticing me, you finally talk to me, a little odd, isn't it? I _am_ afraid! It's not like I was there watching with everyone else on how you screw up your own life and all the people you get involved with! _Yes,_ Harry. I _am_ afraid—doesn't that make you happy? But I'm not afraid of you—I'm afraid I'll get hurt all over again. So no, Harry. I won't be with you. Leave me alone." Hermione said with difficulty, her lip trembling and tears running down her face. She left him, standing there. Her hair swished in front of his face, and Harry felt his heart drop in disappointment.

He sighed and walked down the corridor, kicking the pillar in fury. Since that pensieve incident, he just felt as if his life was a complete waste. His parents did that for him and he didn't even change. Maybe he should.

Yeah. Maybe he should.

---

**Present**

"So, Professor, where's the horcrux?" Harry asked.

"It's in Godric's Hollow." The old man replied.

"Professor, you see, Snape was with Voldemort the night they murdered my parents." He said quickly and angrily.

"I am well aware of that, Harry. And that's _Professor_ Snape."

"Then why do you trust him?!" He asked stubbornly, "He murdered my parents! For all I know he could be sending information about the Order to Voldemort!"

"No, he is not. He sincerely regretted his actions, Harry. And he is essential for the Order."

"Sure, that's what you think." Harry said under his breath. He looked unconvinced, but thankful that he had a knack for hiding his emotions. The silence hovered thickly in the air as Harry ringed the galleons in his pocket. Dumbledore spoke, which broke his uneasy trance.

"Harry, I've been meaning to talk to you about your behavior in school."

_Crap._

"I know, Professor. I've had this speech thousands of times."

"At some point in your life, your facade won't work anymore."

"Merlin, I dread that day." Harry said sarcastically and smiled. Professor Dumbledore chuckled and brought out his arm.

"Are you ready, Harry? I take it that you are already familiar with the routine."

Needless to say anything, Harry grabbed his arm and they apparated to Godric's Hollow. The familiar sinking feeling in his stomach rose for a quarter of a second, suffocating him slowly. Finally, with both his feet back on the ground, he happily breathed the familiar air which seeped through his lungs each day.

There was something eerie about the place, and Harry could definitely sense Voldemort's presence. They slowly entered the house, the door and floorboards creaked. The house looked as if no one had lived in the place for a long time. _As expected_.

There was broken glass and shattered wood on the floor, portraits hung loosely on the wall, flowers were withered, and the furniture was dusty. Harry thought about what his live could've been without Voldemort, but since that would be impossible, he had to fight. For once leave behind his 'wasted' life and focus on getting rid of him.

Dumbledore raised his hand, signaling that they should stop. He placed his hands on the wall, closed his eyes and concentrated on finding the traces of dark magic along the walls that could lead them to one of the last fragments of Voldemort's soul.

"Ah, here we are." Dumbledore pointed at the wall by the side of the fireplace, he frowned soon after and said, "My mistake, perhaps we look in the kitchen."

"Professor, is that the portal?" Harry asked, pointing to the area Professor Dumbledore checked earlier.

"No Harry." Dumbledore sighed, "It's residue from another spell."

"May I ask from what spell?" Harry inquired cautiously, afraid that Dumbledore won't answer. The room fell silent for a moment as the tension built up in the air. Dumbledore seemed hesitant, clutching his beard in anxiousness.

"From the Killing Curse, Harry." Dumbledore said in a bare, slow whisper.

Harry fell silent, and his body went rigid. He opened his mouth to talk, but he shut it again because the words weren't coming out of his mouth. The realization acted as a pang in his heart as he stared longingly into space. He knew what was coming, and yet he didn't expect to be that shocked. After what seemed like hours, he finally found his voice. "So. This is where my father died... Yeah, this is the place. I saw it in the pensieve." He stated, unsure on how he should react.

Dumbledore silently walked about the kitchen, mumbling incantations that Harry couldn't interpret or understand at all. He stood idly by, taking mental snapshots in his head. He looked at every nook and cranny of the living room, observing the marks he used to make on the wall, to the minuscule crayon drawings by the window sill. His mind suddenly filled with _'what could've been's_ and _'what if's_. The memory was still fresh on his head, watching his mother and father die without doing anything... it all made him wish that he had a time turner and go back to 16 years ago, on that sullen, fateful day. Maybe there was a way...

_Just maybe…_

Dumbledore's footsteps going up the old mahogany staircase snapped Harry out of his deep thinking. This house held so many memories he no longer rememberd, so many tragedies that transformed his life greatly, even the front door had a tale to tell. Harry didn't bother to follow Dumbledore, he just wanted to stay in Godric's Hollow and recount all his experiences. He sat down on the couch which had some more traces of magic—burnt edges, ruined cushions, something that looked like an explosion occurred here, too. He pressed his thumbs against his temples and thought hard. His eye lids closing in a gentle manner, he pondered and thought that _maybe, just maybe..._

Harry jolted up in his seat brought out his wand immediately and assumed his dueling position when he felt a rush of cold air sweep through him.

_And there it was._

The mansion he well knew, basking in all its grandeur. The floors sparkled with utmost delight as a flight of marble staircases appeared before him. The great oak doors stood just behind him, carved with small, intricate designs. Harry shut his eyes and shook his head hard, _What's this?! Harry, you're delusional!_ He said to himself.

The living room was painted a lovely shade of yellow, the portraits that once hung loosely on the wall were on their right areas. The flowers were lively, and the soothing crackling noise of wood that came from the fireplace gave the room a homey feel. Harry's jaw dropped in awe, he hadn't felt such warmth and astonishment in his life!

The aroma of a heated grill, roasting what seemed like a delicious steak started to fill his senses. He could just feel the warmth at the pit of his stomach as he slowly approached the kitchen, continually satisfied by the smell of delicious food cooking and sizzling and the sound of vegetables being chopped. The temptation bubbled up inside of him, but he kept it still. Stepping inside the setting, a lovely woman in a floral apron looked at him and smiled. He half-expected to be running out of the house with a knife stuck on his leg, but this woman looked oddly familiar.

"You must be one of our neighbors!" She said delightfully, clapping her hands in joy. "My, you look hungry. Fancy some pumpkin juice?" Her eyes shifted to the abandoned pitcher that lay just by the counter. "I have to apologize though. The food may take a while, but don't worry! There will be enough for everyone." She said in assurance, signaling Harry to come in completely.

"Hang on," Harry said in anxiety. "What if the muggles stumble upon this place?"

"Muggles? The muggles don't see anything." She smiled and continued to prepare the food. Harry was still in awe, staring back at the kind woman in front of him. He didn't know the legend behind the spur of the moment that just happened, and him being transported into this whole different era.

"James! Our neighbor has come to help us with the luggage!" The loud yell that echoed through the halls snapped him out of his reverie.

"Coming dear," Harry heard a young man's voice slowly getting louder with every step he took down the stairs. "Is that the sweet aroma of meatloaf I smell?"

The woman wrapped her arms around the man's neck lovingly, placing a lingering kiss on his lips. Harry assumed the man to be James.

"Enough." He mumbled as he released, earning a smile from his beloved wife. Turning his head towards Harry, he found a smile starting to form on his face.

"You better eat, kiddo. We've got some really cool stuff upstairs, fancy a game of Quidditch? I could get the brooms and—" The woman looked at him and raised her eyebrows. James sighed and said, "Lily, dear. It'll just be for an hour or two! Then the two of us will set up the nursery."

Then it hit him.

Harry Potter had successfully traveled back in time! The unbelievable moment sunk in deeply as he lavished and savored the moment, finding himself smiling inwardly.

"So, I'm Lily, and this is my husband James. And you are?" The question seemed to ring in his ears, and he found the familiar urge to lie.

"I'm, uhm—"

"James, look at him! He looks exactly like you! Are you by any chance related to the Potters?" Her curiosity was high, and she couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows.

"Erm. No—"

"Then I shall call him James Junior!" James said proudly, clasping Harry by the shoulders. He felt that small happiness inside of him, knowing that he finally felt the comforting touch of his father on him. This whole thing was a deep fantasy he had been longing to experience, and he felt ecstatic about everything coming true.

"James, you're too full of yourself." Lily exclaimed, playfully hitting her husband in the arm. Her giggle rang in Harry's ears, making him smile at the soothing sound of his mother's own laugh.

The food was done in a span of minutes, and Lily excitedly invited Harry to sit down and eat with them. The conversation was light, ranging from quidditch to habbits that Harry found quite amusing.

"So, James, been with any girls already?" He said.

"Erm... It's sort of complicated. Most of them aren't...erm—" He need not dwell on this topic once more. He himself had also suffered a great deal of heartache. "And as a matter of fact my name is James." Harry added quietly and smiled at them.

James let out a low whistle and patted Harry on his back so strong that Harry almost chocked on the piece of meat he was eating, "Back in the day I was quite the ladies man myself" He said proudly. Lily stood to protest as they were laughing and looked at each other lovingly in the eyes.

And just like that, Harry felt content as the scene played before him. He was with his parents, having a nice lunch in an almost carefree setting. And for the first time in his life…

_He felt at home._

---

Harry sat in the living room, looking at the photographs that hung in the wall, waiting for his father to arrive for Quidditch. He closed his eyes and thought about Godric's Hollow 16 years from now—the same depressing feeling in the pit of his stomach churned and twisted, thickening silence hovered in the air. He quickly turned his head to the door, afraid that maybe at some point death eaters might horde in and kill the living daylights out of his new-found family. He frowned, feeling nothing but sadness for the happy couple. They didn't deserve this, no one did. Perhaps he should warn them...

_"Hermione, can you explain to me the topic we had in History of Magic? Time is really confusing." Harry asked, approaching her._

_"Here," She handed a piece of parchment to him, "You can copy, I don't mind at all." She said simply, shrugging her shoulders and tilting her head. Harry couldn't help but smile at her, she always did that. When she'd study for exams, she's curl up by the corner, cross her legs and study, she'd throw fits of frustration at times she lost her bits of parchment or bottles of ink. _

_"Remember Harry, terrible things happen to those who meddle with time." She said cautiously. "I take it that you won't be that stupid." Her eyes dimmed as her face was etched with concern. They stared into each others eyes for a minute, Hermione just furrowed her brows and tapped her quill nervously on the table. They smiled at each other after what seemed like an eternity. Harry walked away slowly, pair of books in his right hand, the piece of parchment in the other and the look of concern she gave him engraved in his heart._

Harry opened his eyes, he groaned loudly and kicked the old, battered coffee table in frustration. The house wasn't sparkling anymore, neither was it brand new. The once magnificent oak tree floorboards creaked, and some of them were shattered and cut out. He looked around for Dumbledore, went into every room of the bottom floor. A wave of relief swept through his body when he saw Dumbledore in his favorite purple dress robe, walking slowly about, his incantations and the repetitive flicking of his wand seemed to hypnotize Harry.

He fell into a deep string of thoughts, how was he able to time travel? Was it just a dream of some sort? Even if it was a dream, he'd do anything to go back and enjoy weekends with his parents. But now there was a horcrux to destroy.

"Harry?" Professor Dumbledore called.

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked running upstairs towards the master bedroom. He felt another wave of sadness sweep through him when flashes of his parents' murder ran through his head. At the sight of his parents' death, Harry felt uncontrollable anger at Voldemort and promised to himself that he'd be ready when the time comes.

"Here it is. Do take caution, Harry. This one seems tricky." Dumbledore said quietly.

They were standing in front of an old wardrobe, the smell of mold and mothballs lingered in the area. It's hinges were rusting. There was a dark aura that surrounded it, emitting powerful waves of darkness throughout the room, Harry's breathing quickened, as he held out his hand and slowly walked toward the wardrobe. He held the handle and he gasped in pain as he felt a furious burning sensation surge through his whole body. His hand bore burns and boils which healed in a matter of seconds. Dumbledore sighed, "Harry, please stand back."

Harry did as he was told and stepped back. Dumbledore reached the handles with his already injured hands from the previous horcrux, grasped the handle firmly and tried to pull the doors open, he winced in pain. Harry's feet was glued to the ground as he watched one of the greatest wizards gasp in pain and slowly pull the doors open. Before he could stop him, the doors already flew open—revealing another door. Dumbledore sat back down on the bed, panting and wiped the beads of sweat forming on his wrinkled forehead with the back of his palm. The moment Harry looked away to tend to his professor's hand, the doors of the wardrobe shut tight. Harry looked at Dumbledore nervously, but he was surprised to see the composure in the man in front of him, letting out a small, "Ah." While stroking his beard.

"Professor," Harry said, "This looks like a test of how much the person can go through, and I don't have a problem doing that, your hands are too injured to do this. I should."

"But the difficulty will also depend on how much magic you have in you." Dumbledore said, pacing around the room.

"I'm sure that when I stopped Voldemort 16 years ago, a part of his magic went to me," His hand gestured to his scar. "Just at least a fracture of his power would work, right? You might get injured more if you do this"

Dumbledore frowned slightly, hesitant to say or do anything. But at the look at Harry's eyes, dancing with fury and determination, he slowly nodded. "But if something were to happen. I'll provide any support you need." Harry smiled at Dumbledore gratefully, got up on his feet and started walking towards the dresser.

"This is it." He breathed nervously.

----

_**A/N: oooh, another cliffie. Hahaha. **_

_**Please review : **_


	6. Regret

**A/N: I used a line from One Tree Hill. Season 4 Episode 14—I think. I may have tweaked it.**

**This is an episode where Hermione is visited by a 'ghost' Harry. At some point this happened while she was asleep, or dozing off. Please refer to the A/N at the end of the chapter**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HP or OTH (the one line in particular)**

**Anyway, Enjoy. :D Please review!**

**---**

**Chapter 6: Regret **

_Take that leap and be with me..._

_Take that leap and be with me..._

_Take that leap and BE WITH ME, Hermione..._

_...Please?_

_"Harry?" Hermione gasped, sitting up from her makeshift bed inside the common room. She then frowned, Harry mentioned last night that he won't be able to do this for her, he's been gone since lunch._

_"What?" Hermione turned around to see Harry beside her, smiling smugly. There was a strange aura he emitted. He was pale, almost... ghostly. "I'm dying, Hermione."_

_"WHAT?!" She exclaimed, she felt her heard skip a few beats, her jaw dropped in shock, she felt her eyes sting with fresh, hot tears... She glared at 'Harry' as he started laughing into fits of laughter, leaning on the table for support._

_"You should've seen your face! Ha ha! That was hilarious! Seriously, you can't take a joke! Merlin, you're funny."_

_"You're not Harry..." Hermione said angrily, blinking back her tears._

_"On the contrary, I am Harry! Merlin, you really are funny." He replied cheerfully, sitting on the table in front of her, leaning in to her._

_"I'm not real, Hermione." He replied, their faces only centimeters apart. She felt herself blink, and when she opened her eyes, he was gone. She turned her head, looking for him. "Harry?" She asked, she hadn't noticed herself trembling... feeling her eyes sting once more. She called him again. But the Gryffindor Common Room was still empty._

_What the hell is happening to me?!_

_"Missed me?" said the person she could hardly call Harry, suddenly appearing right beside her, flinging his arm around her shoulder. Harry was... not at all like this. He was quiet, but still charmed everyone. He was serious, barely having fun—lately at least. He was sweet. But then, he screwed up everyone he ever had a relationship with—But he's not at all like this Harry. This Harry was loud, and... happy, careless. Actually he was, but she'd seen improvement in him. He no longer cheated on anyone. 'Maybe he was serious... Oh now is not the time for this', she told herself._

_"You just don't get it, do you?" He added, after receiving silence as a response putting his finger over her button nose, smiling at her tauntingly. "I am Harry. But I'm your... let's see. Your conscience. That's it."_

_"You see," He continued, suddenly disappearing as Hermione blinked, and appearing once again behind her, sitting on the table, swinging his legs back and forth. "You broke his poor heart. And now, do you know where he is?" He asked cheerfully. Licking on his lolli that suddenly appeared out of thin air._

_Hermione shook her head slowly, bracing herself._

_"He's dying. Hermione. Really, he is."_

_"You said this was a joke!" Hermione screamed, standing up and throwing her things to the floor. "You said that you weren't dying!"_

_"I'm not dying—but I wish I would—the other Harry is." He replied happily, taking another lick of his lolli, "Hmm, want one? It's strawberry! Did you know that I love strawberry?"_

_"I don't care about your damn lollipops! Where is Harry? Who the hell are you?!" Hermione asked, crying in frustration._

_"You haven't been listening to me, have you?" He asked, now appearing at the balcony that overlooked the common room, making Hermione look up, her eyes squinting. Then appearing on the window sill, "I'm your conscience."_

_"Still don't believe me?" He asked, and a smug grin appeared on his face. Hermione blinked, again. And found herself in the forbidden forest._

_"Harry's here?" Hermione asked, and starting calling, "Harry? Harry! Where are you?"_

_"No he's not. I'm just so sick of the common room." He said childishly, taking a bean out of his jellybeans packet that appeared in her hands. "Want one?" He offered._

_"So, you're my conscience?" she assumed, ignoring him._

_"You can say that." He replied, smiling widely at her. Popping another jellybean into his mouth. "You know what, you're really, really, pretty. Beautiful, too."_

_"If you're not my conscience, you're a ghost?" She pretended that he didn't hear the last one._

_"You can say that, too." He said, "You can call me anything, frankly, I don't care."_

_"What's happened to the real Harry? I don't get you at all!" She complained, nibbling on her bottom lip nervously._

_"You're not a good listener, are you?" He said, suddenly appearing behind her, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist, his mouth to her ear. They're thighs slightly brush against each other. She felt his firm grip against her, pulling her closer, breathing down her neck. Hermione felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, and her breathing quicken, her cheeks turning into a bright shade of crimson red. She felt goosebumps throughout her body as electricity continued to surge through her veins. His mouth, which was to her ear, whispered "I am the real Harry."_

_"No you're not." Hermione breathed, then to find that the pale, cold, arms that had wrapped around her earlier were gone. She was beginning to get used to his disappearances. "You said that you weren't real."_

_"Fine. You're serious now. You're no fun." He huffed, sitting on the chair in the Gryffindor Common Room—to Hermione's surprise. "Okay, I'm here to erm, haunt you? Annoy you? Something like that."_

_"Then, where's Harry?"_

_"I think I can't tell you that." He said in his sing-song voice. Smiling brightly to her as he popped another Jellybean in his mouth, swinging his legs back and forth._

_Hermione felt her heart reach the bottom of her stomach. "Why not?" She asked, her eyes stinging with tears once again._

_"I'm your conscience, I cease to exist. But please, at least feel bad for breaking his heart. He's dying you know. And you just had to push him away. Bravo!" He sat next to her, only centimeters to her face. Hermione couldn't hear breathing, or smell him, it was like he wasn't real at all. She was too confused. What in Merlin's name is happening?!_

_She blinked, and only to regret it moments later. The Harry whom she had spent a few minutes with was gone._

_"Harry?" She called._

_"Hey! Harry? Where are you?"_

"Harry?!" She called, and sat up in her makeshift bed, again. Had everything been a dream? She didn't know. Was the Harry real? She felt tears run down her face. A long time ago, she had a dream that she was surrounded by a group of people, talking to her all together, letting her feel left out, confused, and frustrated—so she studied, and read every book she could find, so that she would no longer feel like she couldn't understand anything, so she would no longer feel confusion. She thought that the dream would never happen, since she knew almost everything there is to know about the subjects in school.

Only to find herself crying, confused and frustrated.

_What in Merlin's name just happened?_

She hugged into her pillow tightly, letting her tears fall even more. "Harry?" She called desperately, "I need you." She looked around, hoping to find him emerging from the boy's dorm, rubbing his eyes and smiling at her. But he didn't. "Please. Where are you?" She managed to say in between her sobs.

"Harry?" She called once more, wiping her tears away, sniffing.

_I need you, I need you to come back alive. Wherever you are._

---

Hermione couldn't sleep after that dream. It seemed so real.

_Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real, that when you wake up, you don't know which one to believe?_

She fiddled with her bracelet, Harry hasn't been in Hogwarts all day, yesterday. Maybe today he would...

"Where's Harry?" She said to Ginny in a barely audible whisper. Her voice was weak, since the 'incident' she had early morning. Her eyes were still puffy, and she sniffed occasionally.

She watched Ginny's face grow dim, "I don't know." She lied.

"You know, Ginny." Hermione said, "Please?"

"He's out. That's all I know. He's not here." She replied vaguely flipping through the pages of her Defense Against the Dark Arts book.

"I don't get it! Where the hell is he?!" she said, worried about the so-called 'dream' she had the other night... or was it this morning?

"I don't know, Hermione. I'm as confused as you are." Ginny said, unconvincingly, she didn't seem to care. She just flipped through the pages of her book. Harry was her bestfriend for God's sake! And_ this _was her reaction. Hermione could feel the tension in the air, she was fuming—and yet the red-headed girl in front of her didn't seem to mind. Ginny looked up at her, her expression unreadable. "He told me not to tell you, or let you worry at all, okay? That was the last thing he told me before he left. So if you don't want to calm down then it's not my fault. Please, Hermione. Let it rest. He'll come back soon, I promise." She smiled sweetly at her. Hermione still looked unconvinced, pacing the common room faster, now. Biting on her bottom lip. "I promise." She pressed.

"Okay." She said quietly. "I just—Oh I don't know. He wanted to be with me... and I..."

"Tell me you said yes, right?"

"I pushed him... away."

"That's a first. I'm just going to be honest with you, okay, Hermione?" Ginny asked, looking at her curiously. She only received a nod from the bushy-haired girl in front of her.

"Harry's changed. I mean, he used to screw up on everything—cheat, everything. But—somehow. I haven't seen that Harry in a while. It's only been a week, Hermione, and he'd changed drastically."

"What does that—?"

"He loves you, Hermione. At least that's what we all think. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a game. If he wasn't serious about you, he would've had a one-night stand with you and that's it. But he hasn't. Believe us on this one. He likes you, a lot."

Hermione was left speechless.

_What did I do to make life this complicated?_

"But—he's not coming back. He's dying, right?" Hermione croaked, her voice cracking. Ginny looked at her.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you..." She said, standing up, suddenly a bit more jumpy than she was only seconds ago.. "I'm really sorry. I can't tell you... I know how frustrating that is."

"Oh, right. I'll just—I'll just try to keep my mind off him. Thinking of him too much is unhealthy." She joked, then suddenly noticed the irony in what she had just said. If thinking of him was unhealthy, then she'd been sick for a very, very, very long time now.

---

Hermione's harsh words to him still rang in her ear, over and over again. She hated herself for being too mean. In truth, she wanted to kiss him over and over again. But she found herself backing away and facing her back to him.

_She was sitting in the now empty Great Hall. Her vision blurred, and there was a weird mist rising in the air._

_A deafening silence hovered above her, and the unsettling eerie aura around her made her shiver._

_She could see her breath in the air. And she suddenly regretted not bringing her jacket with her. A gush of cold wind swept through her, making her close her eyes and put her knees to her chest, breathing heavily. And when she opened them,_

_She saw him._

_"So, did you miss me?" The second Harry she had met earlier asked. She found herself in a snow storm, probably in the North Pole. He was dressed in his Hogwarts Uniform, draped in scarves and extra pieces of clothing, wearing a cap. He was smiling widely at her, "Enjoying the weather?"_

_"N-not e-exactly." Her teeth chattered, making her speech difficult, she put her arms around herself to try to get rid of the cold gush of wind that swept through her. Her hair blowing with it, and she could feel her clothes and hair getting damp—soaked. "A l-little c-cold, d-don't you t-think?"_

_He smiled smugly at her, and lifted his arms, "Want one?" He offered._

_It took Hermione a while to realize that he was offering a hug. She nodded once and smiled widely, running after him. _

---

Harry sat beside Dumbledore, with bandages wrapping his hands—he injured them, as well as receiving cuts and bruises in different parts of his body. He was looking into the silver bracelet of Rowena Ravenclaw wrapped in a cloth that Dumbledore had supplied, caught into a trance because of its beauty.

"Are you sure this is it, Professor?" He asked, his body quivering, wiping the blood that had trickled from his head using the back of his palm.

---

_"Hey! W-where are y-you g-going?" Hermione asked, still running after him. "I-its c-cold!"_

_"Come on, Hermione! Just a little bit more!" He called, taunting her._

_"But I'm f-freezing!" She whined, kneeling on snow. "I wanna g-go home."_

_"Why did you bring me here, anyway?" She pressed, staring up at him._

_"Don't you like the cold?" He asked, slightly frowning._

_"No. Can I please go back to Hogwarts?" She demanded._

_Harry sighed, walked towards her and engulfed her in a giant hug. He seemed so... real. She found herself clutching tightly to his shirt. "I miss you." She croaked._

_"In 2 days, Hermione." His ghostly self answered. "2 days."_

_"You're coming back?" She asked hopefully._

_She was only answered by silence._

"Wait!" Hermione yelled, sitting up on her seat—only to find all the students starting to walk in for lunch, talking excitedly as they found their seats in their respective tables.

"What?" Ginny asked, suddenly sitting beside her. "Lavender and Padma are pissing me off. Mind if I sit with you?" Smiling happily to herself because she came with intentions to watch over Hermione—because Harry asked her to.

"Sure." She smiled at her—at least attempted to.

"Anything wrong?"

"Just, bad dreams. That's all." She replied, and said "I miss him." Under her breath. But unlucky for her, Ginny seemed to have heard that.

"Who?"

"No one..." Hermione answered quietly, unaware of the sly smile creeping up Ginny's face.

---

_"Please stop bothering me!" Hermione shouted at Harry who just seemed to keep on appearing in her head every time she closed her eyes for more than 2 minutes._

_"Come on, Hermione. Don't be so heartless." He smiled at her, and he walked around the sand—he brought her to a deserted island._

_"I just want all this to stop! Why in Merlin's name are you annoying me?! I haven't done anything to you!" She yelled, her face turning red._

_"Hmm, right you are. Hermione, if want me to leave. Then you should make me leave. I'm not real. I'm just in your thoughts." He sniffed, "I'll miss having someone to bother."_

_"I just want Harry back. I want him to be safe and I want to know what's happening." She pouted, sitting on the hot sand, pulling her legs to her chest, and her chin resting on her knee. Her eyebrows furrowed in worry._

_He crouched in front of her, tapping his finger on her nose, smiling as his bright emerald green eyes twinkled. "You'll know soon."_

_She blinked, and he was gone._

---

"Professor, what's happening?!" Harry asked, "Should we call the Order?!"

"Harry, the Order must not learn of our hunts. Yet—if we need support, we could call them. And I am here. I can keep the two of us safe." The old man chuckled slightly, after shooting a wave of spells.

"Alright." He said with difficulty, jumping over a rock and continued repelling the Inferi, and creating a barrier.

---

Hermione walked down the corridors of Hogwarts towards the common room, pondering the dreams—or hallucinations. She had continually been going through. She worried for Harry. Yet, why should she? She already knew from first sight that Harry was the kind who would use her. Shouldn't she be happy that at least _he_ got a taste of his own medicine? She loved him—but just kept denying it. Saying to herself that there was no way that Harry actually meant what he said.

"I loathe him!" She said, sitting beside Ginny. "I knew that since the day that he talked to me in the Hogwarts Express train was _all_ an act! And here I am, falling in love with him after a week. It's just been a week. But then, that's not the point. It was all an act, he really doesn't love me. He doesn't love anyone. Harry is a heartless man who—"

"Has fallen completely in love with you." Ginny pointed out. "Even if he doesn't show it, he does."

"Yeah, right." She scowled. "He's just out there to break my heart. And he left because he's rejoicing that." She seemed as if she was trying to convince herself that Harry was out having fun and not endangering his life instead of convincing Ginny.

---

"I swear, Ginny. I saw them!" Harry announced to her when he entered the common room. Hermione wasn't aware of his arrival and he wanted to keep it that way.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "Honestly, seeing your parents? Traveling through time? You haven't gone mental, have you?"

"Nope." He grumbled. "Bloody cast, I mean, my arm's okay." He complained, bursting his anger at no one—or nothing in particular. Ginny just scowled at him.

"Mental freak." She whispered jokingly, loud enough to receive glares from Harry. They laughed it off. "I'm serious, maybe it was an effect from the horcrux. But you destroyed it right?" She added inquisitively.

Harry mock glared at her, "Yes, we did. That's what Dumbledore said, too. How's Hermione?" He asked, there was a hint of sadness in his voice. He sighed tiredly—mentioning Hermione especially after what he'd done was extremely difficult. He looked at Ginny expectantly, and waited for a response.

"She's a wreck." She blurted out, surprised that she'd say such a thing about Hermione.

"I saw her hugging Ron a while ago..." Harry added, and cringed slightly as he recalled the scene where he saw them hugging—it didn't look friendly at all. He was able to go out unnoticed.

_"Ron, what am I going to do without you?" Hermione asked, clinging on to him. Fighting back tears that threatened to fall freely from her eyes._

_"It's going to be alright Hermione." He said nervously—he was never good at comforting. Stroking her hair._

_Harry felt himself gape, then escaped the room._

"It must be nothing." She assumed and snapped him out of his recollection, "Probably a 'friends thing'."

"Right." He grumbled, he still didn't believe Ginny.

"Oh Harry, I never knew that you were back." Hermione said, entering the room. Preventing herself from engulfing him in a fierce hug. They looked into each others eyes for a few seconds, and noticed that he was glaring at her. She felt herself nibble on her bottom lip and tears of frustration welling up in her eyes—but she blinked them away.

"Me neither." He mumbled sarcastically then stood in front of her. She tried wrapping him in her arms, but he brought her arms down.

"Not now. Leave me alone." He said quietly then stormed off to the dormitory. Hermione sighed then went up to her dorm, as well.

Ginny stood there, dumbfounded._ What in Merlin's name just happened?!_ She expected them to kiss, profess their undying love, and all of a sudden _this_ happens.

---

Hermione lied down restlessly on her bed, tossing and turning. Sleep seemed to evade her right now—especially when she needed 'dreamland' most.

At least he was alive...

But the way he treated her—she was worried to death about him and he just acted like that, she was just tired of being hurt. Tired of everything—at some point she wished that he'd drop dead right on the spot.

"He's not going to ruin me." She told herself. "He's _not_ going to ruin me."

---

**A/N: not one of my best chapters, but oh well. I hope you guys like this. next chapter will be up soon! Please review:D**

**Sorry if it might be confusing. It shifts from Hermione to Harry a lot.**

**Hermione is NOT going crazy. This was an effect from the horcrux or there's another possibility that she was only dreaming. Hopefully it will all be explained later into the story.**

**Harry returned at night, before everyone went to bed. And the '2 days' meant something else.**

**The italicized ones are the moments she had with the 'other' Harry, like if she closes her eyes long enough, he appears. **

**Please message me if anything is confusing, I'd be happy to clear things up. ,**


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